1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for preventing snoring and, more particularly, is concerned with an apparatus for preventing snoring by acquiring and changing the position of a snoring sleeper""s head on a pillow via sensing and changing the air pressure in separate air chambers in the pillow.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In German patent document No. DE 37 27 258 C2, a device is disclosed for preventing snoring. The device includes a housing which can be placed as a base underneath a pillow. The housing has a plurality of side walls and a cover rotatably connected with its side walls. An eccentric drive for the cover and an electric motor for driving the eccentric drive are disposed in the housing. Furthermore, an electronic system is disposed in the housing for converting snoring sounds, received via a microphone, into electric energy for operating the electric motor. The eccentric drive sets the housing cover into a rolling or tumbling motion, which is continued until the snoring ceases. A disadvantage of this device is that the housing, which by necessity is hard, together with the cover, which is also hard, significantly limits the sleeping comfort of the device.
In German patent document No. DE 41 37 631 A1, an apparatus is disclosed for raising a mattress at the margin thereof in an attempt to stop the snoring by a sleeper on the mattress. The apparatus includes an air-inflatable hollow body disposed on at least one of the two longitudinal margin regions of the mattress. The hollow body is normally empty and lies flat under the mattress. When a snoring sound from the sleeper on the mattress is received via a microphone, a motor driven pump unit is switched on. The pump unit rapidly fills and inflates the hollow body since the latter has a relatively small volume. The inflated hollow body lifts the at least one margin region of the mattress and thereby changes the position of the sleeper such that the snoring will ordinarily stop. If the snoring does not stop, the process must be repeated. A disadvantage of this apparatus is that through the movement of the entire body of the sleeper the sleep disturbance is persistent.
In German patent document No. DE 91 00 663 U1 a device is disclosed for reducing snoring. The device includes a roll-off structure which extends in the area of a pillow in extension of a longitudinal center line of the body of a sleeper. The roll-off structure is comprised of an inflatable hose. If the sleeper starts to snore, a noise sensor detects the snoring and switches on a pump which, in turn, inflates the hose. The inflating hose expands and presses against the back of the sleeper""s head causing the sleeper to turn his or her head to the side. Instead of the noise sensor, the document discloses that a pressure sensor can be employed in the pillow. But, it is unclear how the pressure sensor is intended to work. Either the pressure sensor acts continuously since the sleeper""s head is continuously in contact with it or the pressure sensor acts only when the sleeper""s head moves into a different position and the pressure sensor is touched in the process. Both ways seem unworkable, however, since the sleeper in the former case would not be able to rest peacefully, and, in the second case, the pressure sensor would only trigger after what it intends to achieve, namely a head movement, would have already occurred.
In German patent document No. DE 195 35 232 CA, a device for stopping snoring is disclosed in the form of an adjustable support for a pillow. The adjustable support includes a movable bearing surface for the pillow. The bearing surface has a substantially rectangular configuration and thus has four sides. The adjustable support also includes a plurality of lifting elements disposed under the four sides of the bearing surface. The lifting elements are pneumatic pressure cushions which are connected to a common pump via valves actuatable by a control device. By actuating the pump, one of the lifting elements is filled with air and in this way the corresponding side of the bearing surface is raised. In such manner, a displacement of the sleeper""s body into a side position is initiated or the sleeper""s head is raised in the back or front. Potentially, after several position changes, the sleeper is placed in a sleeping position in which the snoring stops. The pump can be switched on via an acoustic sensor.
Lastly, in Japanese patent document No. 10-85108, an anti-snoring device is disclosed in the form of a pillow having several air chambers in it which are disposed one next to the other. These air chambers of the pillow are inflated to different degrees and are again vented whereby a movement of a sleeper""s head is achieved.
All known anti-snoring devices operating with air chambers have in common the problem that the pressurization of the air chambers takes place randomly, that is, those of the air chambers which do not produce the desired effect are also pressurized. Consequently, a need exists for a device that will solve this problem with known anti-snoring device employing the pressurization of air chambers to prevent snoring.
The present invention provides an apparatus for preventing snoring which solves the aforementioned problem of the prior art devices in a manner that does not impair the sleeping comfort of the sleeper either at all or only insignificantly and yet effectively prevents snoring.
The snoring preventing apparatus of the present invention, which solves the aforementioned problem, comprises a pillow divided internally into a plurality of separate air chambers, a sound sensor for sensing snoring noises emanating from a sleeper""s head resting on said pillow, means for sensing and changing air pressure being connected in flow communication individually with each of the separate air chambers of the pillow, and a monitoring unit connected to the sound sensor and to the air pressure sensing and changing means. The monitoring unit is activatable by snoring noises sensed by the sound sensor to operate so as to acquire the position of a sleeper""s head on the pillow by operating the air pressure sensing and changing means so as to sense an increase of pressure in respective ones of the air chambers of the pillow resulting from the weight of the sleeper""s head lying on the pillow. The monitoring unit also is operable in response to acquiring the position of the sleeper""s head on the pillow to control the operation of the air pressure sensing and changing means so as to change the air pressure in selected ones of the air chambers of the pillow and thereby causes a change of the position of the sleeper""s head resulting in the sleeper stopping snoring. The air pressure sensing and changing means preferably is at least one air pressure source and an air pressure reducing unit.
The pillow has a pair of lateral chambers each extending between a front and a rear of the pillow and along one of a pair of opposite sides of the pillow. The pillow also has front and back middle chambers extending between and transversely to the lateral chambers and disposed adjacent to one another and adjacent to the front and rear of the pillow. The pillow further has a cover layer overlying the chambers at a top of the pillow. The cover layer has a volume filled with a gel.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.